Changing sports consumption

AM radio to get axed?

Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a terrific start.

A couple of newsletters ago, I wrote about the changes in how we consume our sports. The changes are coming rapidly, particularly with a new year knocking on the door. That means, of course, consolidation, job losses and even an effort to eliminate certain consumption resources. So let’s start there.

Those who follow the industry closely - and I worked fulltime in the industry for 30 years and part-time for 50, know AM radio is in big trouble. I think I read a statistic that only 12% of people still tune to the AM dial. Now comes word makers of electric automobiles will no longer install AM radios in new vehicles. Some technical jargon about interference is what they say? Interference? I listened to baseball games on the radio for decades, where interference was part of the blueprint! Like most baseball aficianados, I became adept at making out what broadcasters said in between overlap from other stations, static from lightening, etc. And that was in vehicles using the internal combustion engine.

Granted, at the moment just 3% of all vehicles on the road are electric, but expect that number to grow decidedly before the decade is over.

In truth, I rarely listen to AM radio anymore. That doesn’t mean I do not tune in to AM programming. Especially, when it comes to play-by-play on the radio, I tune in via some app that feeds through my vehicle’s speaker system. But in truth, that is the closest I come to listening to programming on an actual radio device. There are podcasts that reprogram AM shows or AM hosts who add another dimension with a separate podcast, smart phones and other “home” devices used to listen to so-called radio. And if I’m not in my vehicle, I am usually watching a game on my iPad. Most teams now televise their games on some app, while ignoring radio.

Which leads me to FM. More and more, talk, information, news and sports programming are moving to FM, while music is leaving the medium entirely. Look for more of those changes in the near future, although even when I consume any FM programming it is usually via an app.

The days of listening to a ballgame on AM radio are dwindling to a precious few. For decades, people have proclaimed “AM radio is dead,” only to be proven wrong. I am afraid this time, reports of AM radio’s death may not be exaggerated. I hope I am wrong.

And speaking of changes…

As I started to write, with the year coming to a close more people in the content-delivery industry are losing their jobs. Longtime talkshow host and ex-big leaguer Lou Merloni was given the ax by WEEI sports talk radio. Merloni got the news last week and tweeted it out Monday morning.

Guerin Emig, a highly-esteemed sports writer for the Tulsa World, received his pink slip Monday morning. Some Merry Christmas for him. His daughter tweeted out a heart-felt comment about her dad.

On and on it goes. Gannett News, publisher of USA Today, after laying off 400 employees earlier this year, announced another round of job cuts last week. Expect more publishers to follow suit, before the calendar page is flipped.

It’s not as if people have stopped consuming information, its just that they consume it in less traditional ways. Throw in an economic downturn, leading to reduced ad dollars for publications and radio, and advertisers demanding more ROI (return on investment) before parting with their ad budgets, and you have legacy media facing head winds that may not stop. How will this all fall? Stay tuned.

Remembering an icon

I will admit, I am not a soccer enthusiast, but like everyone else who read the news, I was sadded by the passing of renowned soccer writer Grant Wahl, who died suddenly, while covering the World Cup in Qatar. Besides being a great journalist, Wahl, by all accounts, was a better person, who left us at the young age of 49.

Wahl was among those, who had the courage to speak his mind. He was let go by Sports Illustrated, when he spoke out against a paycut by SI because of the pandemic. However, adapting to a changing world, he launched a highly successful newsletter on this platform, Substack. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

That is it for this week’s newsletter. As always, thank you for your support and have a terrific week.

SPORTSCASTER DAN